The requirements of reduced size and cost in many electronic devices and systems continue to pressure designers to provide smaller and less expensive semiconductor components, while at the very least not compromising function and performance. For example, single or discrete semiconductor components can be used in many applications including cell phones, TV set top boxes, and many other RF and non-RF products. One such component is a diode. Many known diodes are packaged into small plastic carriers and then mounted onto circuit boards for use in products. The package provides for example, a more easily handled structure during the assembly of the electronic device into which the package is provided. A drawback in using plastic packages is the added space required of the packaged device in increasingly smaller sized products such as cell phones or PDA's. Moreover, in addition to requiring more space, the packaging can cost many times more than the price of the semiconductor device provided therein.
There is a need, therefore, for a semiconductor component that overcomes at least the shortcoming of known semiconductor components discussed above.